Tales From The Bunker

Two years after Brent’s death, when David was 11, he threw himself into golf, reporting to the range at his father’s club every day after school. He could stand for hours in a bunker practicing trap shots. His dedication was an attempt to compartmentalize his feelings and forget about Brent, if even for a moment.

His father, giving him tips about his shoulder turn and takeaway, also tried to add to the David’s ability to forget about Brent; “Play what’s in front of you, David. Your score is just a succession of numbers. Don’t add them up until the end. Don’t dwell on the past.”

The advice kept Duval trained on the present and taught him an emotional discipline that was likely to have been as useful to David, the bereaved brother, as it was to David the gifted junior golfer. It is easy to see why David embraced a sport where one tries to live in the present, completely absorbed in the moment, trying to not think about either the last hole or the next hole.

The moment that started his path to happiness was in 2002 when he suddenly thought “I am allowed to be happy”. A conversation with Bob Rotella, noted sports psychologist, helped David start to reevaluate his life.

In 2003 he met Susie Persichitte, an interior designer with three kids from a previous marriage. He was not looking for a relationship but seven months later they were married. Susie taught him he was defined by who he was, not by what he did. The joy David found in family life helped him understand the deep anguish his parents dealt with when they lost Brent.  But being better able to gauge the depth of his father’s heartbreak also made it harder for him to understand how his father could have left. Duval’s resolve to be a great father reflected the dissolution of his childhood home.

David and Susie now have five children. While it is hard for him to leave his happy home, he plays because golf now gives him great joy. He hopes to begin to play better so his children can see what he can accomplish on the golf course.

David stated “I’m a nice person; It just took me a long time to let people know it.”  The man behind the Oakley shades is no longer hiding.

Until next time,  keep’em in the fairway!

Tags: Blogging by admin
No Comments »

We are back and raring to go after some time off. Sorry to take it in the middle of the David Duval Saga. Np doubt there have been sleepless nights among our readers wondering how the Duval saga will end .

Duval grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, the middle kid — three years younger than his brother, Brent, and five years older than his sister, Deirdre. His father, Bob Duval supported the family as the head pro at nearby Timuquana Country Club.

David and Brent did everything together. But in the fall of 1980, 12-year-old Brent began to look pale and to complain of fatigue. His parents at first thought he had a stubborn flu. During the Christmas break, he was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a lethal disease in which bone marrow stops making the stem cells that generate infection-fighting blood cells. His only hope was a bone-marrow transplant from a compatible donor — David.

The first two biopsies of David’s marrow, which would ascertain its compatibility, were performed without anesthetic. David bore up bravely until the augur bit the bone, and then he screamed and writhed as his father and a nurse held him down. When the needle was drawn, the doctor turned to the other hip. David was given general anesthesia for the four subsequent punctures.

For a few weeks, it looked like the family had gotten a miracle. Brent’s color and energy came back. The doctors said he was progressing well enough for his parents to make plans to take him home. Then fever. Vomiting. Further tests: Brent’s body was rejecting David’s tissue. There was nothing the doctors could do. David returned to the hospital to say goodbye. At the sight of the bald, wasted boy lying in a welter of tubes, David cried, “That’s not Brent! That’s not my brother!” and fled from the room.

On May 17, 1981 Brent died.

His Little League teammates carried his coffin at the funeral in Jacksonville. David endured stoically until a few weeks later, when, blaming himself for the failed marrow transplant, he burst into sobs and cried out, “I killed him! I killed him!”

David’s mother kept a large picture of Brent in the front hall, spoke about him in the present tense, and tried to preserve his room as it had been the day he left. She fell away from religion and into alcoholism. Bob Duval also looked for solace in a bottle, and about a year later, in a decision that confounded his surviving son, left the home. He returned after about a year, then left for good and eventually remarried.

In our final segment David tries to put his life back together and eventually finds happiness.

Until then, Keep’em in the fairway.

Tags: Blogging by admin
No Comments »

Many of us, including me, do not do enough to ensure we are playing with the best combination of clubs in our bag. Check out the following short video on the subject. Then please hang around as I have a few comments on the video.

 As a golfer whose golf ball always seems to be under a tree, it will be very hard to give up my three iron. However other than chipping from under a tree I never use it, as I can’t hit it, so say goodbye three iron.

Since 80% of shots are hit within 100 yards of the green (that includes putts) wedge play is critical. If you have three wedges that are gapped correctly, learn to hit a full swing and a half swing with each club and you have six distances that you can really on.  That takes off  tremendous pressure as you should almost always have a standard practiced shot that should allow you to put the ball on the green every time.

I realized years ago I could not hit a long iron and started to carry a five and seven wood, the precursors to today’s hybrids.  A person without a hybrid in their bag is someone you should be able to beat  on the course.

Take a good look at you golf bag and make some hard decisions. You will not regret it.

Tags: Tips by admin
No Comments »

Since family should always come first we have been remiss is not congratulating our daughter Katie on her engagement on Christmas Eve. She is planning to marry a man (Ryan) we completely approve of and could not be happier about the turn of events. (Wedding plans to be based on our pocketbook)

Back to golf! This blog is about getting in the best golf shape you can possibly obtain.  But first we would like to tell you a story.

Last winter we went to the annual winter golf show here is Chicago. Being tired of walking we sat down to listen to an hour presentation by a local teaching PGA professional. His first remarks were about golf fitness. He said that the golf swing uses almost every single muscle in the body so a complete body workout is very important.

Then he said something that made us both look at each other. He said every spring people come up to him and say they have working out all winter and they can now squat x amount of pounds, bench press y pounds, etc. so they should be able to pound the ball out of sight. They would then show the professional their swing and he saw the same flaws they had the previous fall and unless they were corrected the ball was not going to go any farther (or straighter).   

His real point was that while being in poor condition can definitely limit your golf achievements, only with proper golf technique can you achieve the results your desire.  You may look better and feel better (both very important) but your golf ball still will not go where you want. But with both a golf appropriate workout and correct technique you can take you game to the next level!

We still did not get to a review of some of the golf conditioning materials we offer in our stores, hopefully next time.

Remember to keep them in the fairway!

Tags: Blogging by admin
1 Comment »